Malaysia honours piracy-busting mutts

Medals for Lucky and Flo

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Malaysia has honoured Lucky and Flo - the pirate DVD-sniffing black Labradors whose olfactory skills have led to 26 arrests and the seizure of $6m in hooky discs, Reuters reports.

The celebrity pair were trained by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), and subsequently deployed in Malaysia where they quickly ran to ground $3m in discs and copying equipment in the southern city of Johor Baru.

The Johor syndicate of conterfeiting ne'er-do-wells subsequently slapped a 100,000 ringgit ($28,500) bounty on the two mutts - evidently to no effect, since Malaysian authorities today awarded Lucky and Flo medals in recognition of their contribution to keelhauling pirates.

S Veerasingam, Malaysia's deputy minister for domestic trade and consumer affairs, declared: "The dogs have proven to be a major asset in our fight against the pirates and we intend to continue what Lucky and Flo have set in motion."

The crimebusting duo is now set to visit New York to spread the piracy-busting word, followed by a trip up the red carpet at a Toronto film festival. Their Malaysian duties, meanwhile, will be assumed by a new pair of dogs donated by the Motion Picture Association. ®